Homophobia hoax? Bullying note to waitress went viral, but it might be fake

Dayna Morales said she was the victim of a homophobic note -- but the customers claim otherwise

How much outrage can one story about a little restaurant receipt inspire? Well, throw in the words “homophobia” and “possible hoax” and let’s find out.

Earlier this month, New Jersey waitress Dayna Morales attained instant Internet fame after she sent Facebook’s “Have a Gay Day” page a photo of a message she claimed she received on a patron’s receipt. It read, “I’m sorry but I cannot tip because I don’t agree with your lifestyle & how you live your life.” Morales further claimed that she’d gotten off to a bumpy start with the couple and their children when they looked her over and allegedly told her, “Oh I thought you were gonna say your name is Dan. You sure surprised us!”

In an email to Have a Gay Day, the former Marine wrote, “NEVER in a million years did I think this would happen. I am THOROUGHLY offended mad pissed off and hurt that THIS is what her kids will grow up learning and that I served in the Marines to keep ignorant people like them free. Sorry lady but I don’t agree with YOUR lifestyle and the way you’re raising your kids but you didn’t see me throwing that in your face and giving you shitty service. Keep your damn mouth shut and pray we never cross paths again.” After the post created a sensation, Morales further commented on Facebook, “Thanks everyone for your support. It took every fiber of my being not to spit in their food and say something. (Not gonna lie if kids weren’t there it would of been a totally different story).”

Morales’ story triggered an outpouring of strong, sympathetic reactions about the “appalling” and “stupid” family — and a deluge of donations. A few days ago, she said she was going to give a portion of her new earnings to the Wounded Warriors Project. “It’s great to see everybody’s support and I’m thankful for it,” she told NBC New York, “but it doesn’t excuse or change the fact that it actually did happen.”

The story had echoes of similar recent alleged incidents of terrible customers. In October, a Christian couple in Kansas City reportedly left a message for their server that read, “Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD. Queers do not share in the wealth of GOD, and you will not share in ours. We hope you will see the tip your fag choices made you lose out on, and plan accordingly.” Then a Tennessee Red Lobster waitress posted a photo on Facebook of a receipt with no tip and a racist slur scrawled on it. The waitress, Toni Christina Jenkins, soon amassed over $10,000 in donations from around the world – while the patron Devin Barnes, whose personal information was revealed in the photo, found himself on the receiving end of harassment and death threats, and had to hastily change all of his banking and credit card information. Barnes then hired a handwriting analyst who affirmed the writing matched neither him nor his wife. He is currently planning on suing the restaurant and Jenkins.

And then, earlier this week, Morales’ story took a twist — when the family she said stiffed her contacted NBC News to dispute her claim. The husband and wife produced their copy of the receipt, which showed an $18 tip, and what they say is their Visa statement, which likewise reflects the larger total. They also say the alleged snarking on Morales’ appearance went down differently – they say they’d been told their server would be “Dan,” and when Morales appeared, they said, “Whoa, you’re not Dan.” The husband told NBC he didn’t even vote for Chris Christie because Christie doesn’t support marriage equality. “Never would a message like that come from us,” he says.

The restaurant now says it is “investigating” the situation. Meanwhile, individuals claiming to know Morales say that she has a history of making things up, “telling co-workers she shaved her head because she had brain cancer and later telling them it was her friend who had brain cancer.” And the online community that was eager to hand her money a week ago has now turned on her. The Huffington Post story currently has close to 5,000 comments, many of which will make you immediately want to go out and get day drunk, while the Daily News readers now have her pegged as “a disgrace to the uniform. Nothing but a petty liar.”

For now, all that’s certain is that somebody isn’t telling the truth, and an $18 tip has now become the linchpin of an international story that raked in thousands of dollars in donations. And the most insightful, accurate response to the whole thing so far has got to be from the CNN commenter who simply noted, “Moral of the story? Pay CASH.”

This story is really weird, why would the waitress write on the customer's copy? She doesn't need to write on their copy, they already know what they wanted to tip, they write that tip on the service copy.

Also they didn't prove shit with the bank statement, it was just a print out, that stuff is SO easy to edit. The real proof would be letting someone see their bank statement online cause you can't edit that but I doubt they would do that.

And why did they feel the need to come out and protest about it so much? They weren't named, no-one had any idea it was them.

The whole story is really fishy, both from the waitress and the alleged customers.

This story is really weird, why would the waitress write on the customer's copy? She doesn't need to write on their copy, they already know what they wanted to tip, they write that tip on the service copy.

Also they didn't prove shit with the bank statement, it was just a print out, that stuff is SO easy to edit. The real proof would be letting someone see their bank statement online cause you can't edit that but I doubt they would do that.

And why did they feel the need to come out and protest about it so much? They weren't named, no-one had any idea it was them.

The whole story is really fishy, both from the waitress and the alleged customers.

Where does it say that the waitress wrote on the Customer copy? All it says is the couple produced it in their own defense. Lots of people write the tip amount on their copy so they can keep track of total charges. It's proof of nothing however.

Also, if they did it, then coming out when they didn't need to and outing themselves doesn't make any sense. If they are innocent however, I can see them being outraged at this waitress making money off of a lie.

I had a feeling it was made up. It just sounded so much like other recent incidents...I can imagine an effed up person seeing the outpouring of sympathy and support other people have gotten and wanting to get in on it. Maybe rationalizing that they are doing something good by putting the spotlight on homophobia (even if it's fake). Dumb-ass.

Supposedly, Morales has been getting pursued about this by a lot of reporters and jumped out of a cab to get away and then jumped out again just in time to cross the finish line first in the NY Marathon.